Why do i suck at running its, seriously, its gonna really mess up my nationals ranking

In all seriousness… its starting to bug me.

This year i’ve been between, 23-26min/1500 on my swims. 23.5mph-24.1mph on the bike.

But for whatever reason i am dying trying to get down under 42-44mins/10k. Which is defintily better then my 53min 10k i ran about this time last year but honestly i feel like i should be able to run faster then this right now. When i run my HR feels fine but my legs feel like they are tired as soon as i start running.

I have had a couple injuries this year, sprained ankle in april, strained hamstring at memphis in may swimming, it cramped during the swim and then i ran the rest of the race. and i ran into that pesky fence at nationals which messed up my knees for a bit.

Should i not worry about it and just keep training or am i doin something wrong that anyone can think of.

Grant

Read “Daniels Running Formula” and follow his advice for the 5k-15k training.

losing 1mph on the bike may yield you minutes on the run.

probably going too hard on the bike.

Its not a bike thing. I probably should have explained it better. I’m running slow and my legs feel cooked all the time. Like i went for a run tonight and my legs felt like they were smoked even though my breathing was fine.

Its hard to explain its like i can’t get my cadence up high enough when i am taking normal stride lengths.

Grant

I am no expert in running and not a good runner myself but I think 10 minutes for 10K in one year is huge improvements, be patient and consistently run more. My first 10K was 50minutes 2 years ago, I went sub 40 finally…

patience
.

I am no expert in running and not a good runner myself but I think 10 minutes for 10K in one year is huge improvements, be patient and consistently run more. My first 10K was 50minutes 2 years ago, I went sub 40 finally…
yes, excellent improvement. however the difference between 40 and 35 is huge. and lots of miles

Agree, it took me a year to go from 50 to 42-43, and another year to break 40, I am talking open races btw.

Its not a bike thing. I probably should have explained it better. I’m running slow and my legs feel cooked all the time. Like i went for a run tonight and my legs felt like they were smoked even though my breathing was fine.

Its hard to explain its like i can’t get my cadence up high enough when i am taking normal stride lengths.

Grant

When this happens to me, the first thing I check is my shoes. Are you excessively sore after runs, but not after bike rides?

I am no expert in running and not a good runner myself but I think 10 minutes for 10K in one year is huge improvements, be patient and consistently run more. My first 10K was 50minutes 2 years ago, I went sub 40 finally…

Thanks last year was my first year running or swimming so i’m only a year and a half into run training.

Its just been frustrating lately like last weekend up doing lake chisago sprint. I was 21st overall, 21st on the swim, 20th on the bike and then like 59th on the run out of 900 people I am just getting my ass rediculously kicked on the run.

Grant

Shoes are pretty new.

Im not excessivly sore after either. I mean based on my body i feel like i am training at the right level. I am able to do all my workouts during the week. I’m not bombed for the whole week. But i am a lot more sore during runs then i am biking.

Grant

Dude, 10 minutes of improvement in one year is huge, It might take a few seasons to really figure everything out. My first Oly I ran a 48 after biking a 67. My last oly (shit almost 7 months ago now) i ran a 39 after biking a 60. That took me about three years.

keep it in perspective, you are still doing pretty damn good.

Shoes are pretty new.

just because they are new does not mean they are the right shoe…just a thought.

And I still suck at Ironman, with a marathon PB under three hours, Im still at 4:48 for my IM marathon PR. Its just part of the sport, learning how to get faster.

I find my legs are tired for a few reasons.

Like Erik said shoes, once over 500 miles usually and they need a change and I don’t just feel better but usually faster.

Second, overtraining can do it, though I think it’s more rare than people like to tell themselves. In my opinion it takes a lot of training to completely flatten a persons training.

Third, too many runs at blah pace. I find my legs get a lot more spring if I’m doing regular track and tempo workouts. This doesn’t just apply to racing but if I run an average pace everyday, I’ll feel average everyday. If I spend a little bit of time running everywhere from strides(fast) to tempo (sub 6) to regular training at 7:00-7:30 pace my legs are much more likely to feel good day in and day out.

A couple things we need to know. How much are you running? How fast can you run a 10k in an open running race? For the fall, I would focus solely on improving running. Work on getting weekly mileage up, depending on how much you can handle and where you are at right now. You first need to build an aerobic running base. I ran in college and this last year I have been focusing solely on biking and building an aerobic base around that. Getting used to a “new” activity can take time. Or maybe you just need to change some things from your running program. But from the sounds of it, just keep putting in the time on the run. That should be your primary focus.

How many days a week do you run?

What do you weigh? Hard to run under 40 weighing over 170. At least I don’t see it happen very often.